Bombard Steam Artillery
"Oh, I don't think I am the Lord himself. I merely borrowed his 'smite' button." :- Bombard Commander After WWIII, legendary Vindicator pilot Enrico "Vindianna" Jonas became an explorer searching for the organisation who killed his wife and son; The elusive Cult of the Black Hand. Unfortunately, his search had little success, as anytime any evidence emerged the path back only led him to the burned ruins of a Cult base. The most interesting thing he found in the rubble of one of the Cult's shrines was the mangled hulk of a forty-feet tall walker of unknown design, something which Vindianna never seen before. Little was left of the walker, as it seemed someone had stripped all it down carefully before he arrived. He disregarded it (being unable to identify it), returned to his Ranger and then drove off, puzzled. This walker was previously, before it fell, a Bombard Artillery Walker, a massive steam-powered walker carrying three huge 450mm cannons, powered by a massive steam boiler. The basic mechanism of the cannons is fairly straightfoward; overpressurised steam is used to fire a huge shell. After firing, the steam is then released from the back of the cannon, in order to negate recoil. The cannon's firing chamber builds up steam pressure until it reaches the optimal pressure, upon which an elaborate clockwork mechanism vents the steam into the barrel, blasting the shell out of the cannon. The complex clockwork mechanism regulates the firing cycle of the cannons, allowing multiple shots to be fired in quick sucession; the cannons are limited only by the amount of steam the boiler can generate. Despite their ability to produce miracle alloys and complex machinery, most of the Talon's weapons were swords, flames, and holy words. The first attempt to make an artillery piece was more like a steel battering ram with a cannon similar to the ones used by the rest of the world, using gunpowder. This weapon, christened the Saint Artillery Primus, was designed by the mysterious Forgemaster "Tabula Rasa", and would go on to be used for the next two hundred years, until a then obscure Forgemaster (known only as "Aperta Scriptum") designed several revolutionary vehicles, called "walkers". One of the sketches detailed a large walker, the third smallest walker design of Aperta Scriptum. The Order decided that this was the exact weapon that would take over the role of the Primus, which had not aged well in spite of numerous upgrades and modifications. The development of the "Bombard" began some years before World War I, and the first Bombard walked out of the forges on 15th May, 1915. During the numerous encounters with the Cult, in which the Bombard was first fielded, a flaw was found in the design. Even though the crew of the Bombard had an excellent view of the battlefield from the top of the walker, they found that the range of the cannons still exceeded their line of sight. This problem was circumvented by using Hawks and Rogues to spot for the Bombard. Once this problem had been dealt with, the Bombard went on to truly prove itself, providing devastating artillery support for Talon troops. Only Talon Steel can withstand the massive pressures that the chambers and boiler experience, and furthermore the boiler and chambers must be forged via complicated and elaborate processes in order to ensure they are forged as a single piece; otherwise, they will simply burst apart at the welds. The process is abominably difficult and time consuming, and requires great expertise, as well as large quantities of Talon Steel; the boiler and chamber walls must be thick if they are to withstand the massive stresses. Other parts of the Bombard can be just as troublesome to manufacture; the result is that a single Bombard is extremely difficult and time consuming to produce. As such, the Codex Unguis limits each Crawler Cell to only six Bombards. The Bombard remain one of the most deadly weapons the Order have in its hands, and their ability to saturate an area with a massive barrage of shells ensures that few of the Talon's enemies survive an encounter with these machines. Behind the Scenes * The Bombard bears a distinct resemblance to the C&C 3 Juggernaut. * Aperta Scriptum, which means in English Open Book, is reference to the leader of the Paradox, Open_sketchbook.